


some days it's hard to see

by dryadfiona



Series: so long ago [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: 18th Century, Angel/Human Relationships, F/F, Period Typical Attitudes, but i didn't do any research. i am JUST vibing, i don't know what this is but i'm having fun!, probably historically inaccurate which is funny bc i'm a history major, the target audience is me and No One else will like it i know this but you're welcome to read ig
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:34:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23249326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryadfiona/pseuds/dryadfiona
Summary: Chloe gets a job at the Amber estate. She needs the money, so she can't exactly turn it down. Their daughter is a surprise delight, but she's odd.
Relationships: Rachel Amber/Chloe Price
Series: so long ago [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1674034
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	some days it's hard to see

Chloe's life had been difficult for a long time.

Her father died when she was just a child, and her only friend at the time had left almost immediately. Her mother was, in theory, lucky to find someone willing to marry a widow, and a soldier at that, but she loathes the man. He makes enough to send her to school, but he doesn't, citing something about women's place not needing them to read. She learns in secret, of course, and while her mother frowns at how openly she reads novels when they're all together, she never comments on it.

Still, being in the house has been stifling, lately. David talks loudly about how at ninetoon, she'll have to marry soon, and what a shame it is that she doesn't have any prospects. Chloe does her best to ignore him, but Joyce has been talking about it too, and it's not like she can just _tell_ them she has no intention of marrying.

Work in Arcadia has been scarce. It's why Maxine's family had left, taking her with them, and Chloe's had no one to talk to about any of it ever since. So when a new family moves in, building a beautiful estate almost within walking distance, she hears about it when her mother's friends talk about how they're looking for a new servant.

It's not what David wants her to do, and she's not fond of the idea of working for some rich family while most of her neighbors are barely able to feed their children, but it means freedom from talk of marriage, so she wears her nicest dress and trudges over before the sun's up.

The woman who answers the door is wearing something fancier than Chloe's even _seen_ in her life, and she tries not to be self-conscious about the simple blue shift. "Good morning, ma'am."

"Hello," the woman says, looking over her with what she thinks is a critical eye. She tries not to let her irritation show. "Are you here about the servant position?"

"Yes," she says, and to her relief, the woman moves to let her in. She keeps her eyes at her feet even as they talk, making sure she's not tracking mud in, until the woman asks her to sit down. She does, and notices a blonde girl, about her age, staring at her from the staircase.

She's dressed even fancier than the woman in front of her, wearing a pale blue dress with plenty of jewels and her hair in an elaborate updo, which seems wild, considering it's just past dawn, but Chloe's never understood rich people before, let alone now.

"So, Miss Price," the woman says, looking over her, and Chloe snaps her gaze back towards her. "Do you know how to cook?"

"Yes," she says, and doesn't mention that it was her father, not her mother, who taught her.

"Good," the woman says. "Does your husband know you're taking this job?"

"I'm not yet wed, ma'am," she says. "Though my mother has spoken recently of my prospects."

"Your parents, then?"

"Yes," she lies.

The woman smiles. "Good. It's nice to see someone who knows their place."

If Chloe were free to do whatever she wanted and damn the consequences, this is where she'd start throwing and breaking things. But this is the only way out of her home, so she smiles and nods.

"You start tomorrow," the woman says. "I'm Rose Amber. My husband is James. We'd like breakfast at seven. Feel free to go get your things today and move in."

"I thank you, ma'am," Chloe says, in disbelief that this went so easy. She just has to keep up appearances, now.

When she walks out the door and back towards her home, she hardly notices that the girl from before has kept up with her until she suddenly speaks.

"Chloe, right?" 

"God!" Chloe says, spinning around to see the girl smiling at her without a care in the world. "I'm--sorry, you scared me."

"Oh, it's fine," the girl says. "I'm Rachel."

"It's been a pleasure to meet you. Good day," Chloe says, because someone this rich shouldn't just be _talking_ to her. She's sure she'll get blamed, somehow.

"You're working at the Amber house?" Rachel asks, keeping pace with her anyway.

"I will be, starting tomorrow," Chloe says with a sigh, sure Rachel will be able to tell she's irritated but not minding much. For once, _she's_ not the one breaking social norms.

"Wonderful," the girl says with a wide smile. "I can't wait to see you more."

"Are you...their daughter?" Chloe asks. Rachel smiles and doesn't answer, but what else could she be? "Well. If you have need of anything, I'll be there."

"And if you need anything," Rachel says, grabbing her hand suddenly. Chloe stops immediately. Her hands are soft and she looks so earnest, looking up at Chloe with these wide green eyes, and she can't remember the last time she was this close to someone. "I'm there for you."

"Oh," Chloe says, which isn't an answer, but Rachel smiles back at her like it is one.

Chloe's hand feels warm for the rest of her walk home.

* * *

David is upset about the job, but her mother is thrilled, and Chloe's relieved to be out of the house. She only has the one bag worth of things to bring, so she's moved in well before dark. Thankfully, she doesn't have work to do, merely exploring the house. James Amber--her new employer--seems to spend all of his time writing letters in his office and drinking sherry, so she doesn't anticipate he's gonna be hard to deal with, especially considering the plans his wife had written down for dinner. (She had to struggle to read the cursive, but she managed.)

She walks around the grounds, all beautiful flowers and finely manicured gardens. It's lovely and completely unlike anything she's seen before. Still, the thing she thinks is the prettiest in the garden is Rachel, looking at some deep purple flowers flourishing in one corner of the garden.

"Chloe!" she says, smiling at her like she's excited to see her. It's been a long time since someone's looked at her like that, so she smiles back, a little uncertain. "How are you?"

"Thankful for the job," she says. "The garden is lovely."

"My father has an eye for such things," she says.

It's not what Chloe would have expected from James Amber, but it's not like she really cares. "I'll leave you to your time, then." 

"No, I'm happy to see you," Rachel says. "Walk with me?"

She's holding out her hand, just as bold as before, and Chloe takes it. Rachel leads her through the garden, talking about how different plants grow, and the seasons, and something called genetics.

"How do you know so much?" Chloe asks.

"School is more widespread nowadays," Rachel says. She frowns a bit, and Chloe's upset to see that it doesn't make her any less pretty. "Though not for all. Did you ever go to school?"

"No, my mother's husband thought it improper," Chloe says.

"Such a shame men are so foolish," Rachel says with a sigh, and Chloe laughs. "I'm glad you don't seem to have fallen for it."

"I, um--"

"I don't plan on telling anyone," Rachel says with a small, knowing smile, and Chloe smiles back.

* * *

Chloe works for the Ambers for months before she realizes she's never heard either of them mention a daughter. Still, she doesn't ask Rachel about it, because Rachel cleans the house before Chloe wakes up so they can spend the day together, and Rachel teaches her all about science and the world beyond Arcadia Bay and about herself. Chloe loves hearing about Rachel's thoughts, dreamy and vague as they are.

"Violets are my favorite flower," Rachel says one day in the garden, looking at the deep purple flowers from their second meeting. "I'm sure they'd be yours, too."

"Purple's not my favorite color," Chloe says. 

"Their meaning, I think is what you'd like," Rachel says, putting a hand on Chloe's face in a shockingly intimate gesture. Chloe should pull away, but there's a lot of things Chloe _should_ do. "It means love."

"Love?" Chloe says. "Rachel, I don't know if you've noticed, but I have very little faith in love."

"Not just any love," Rachel says, gently placing one of the violets behind one of Chloe's ears. "The love between women."

"Oh," Chloe says, and Rachel goes up on her tiptoes to kiss her. Chloe kisses back, because of _course_ she does, even though there's alarm bells in her head about being seen and being caught and being _left_ again.

Rachel pulls back with another brilliant smile. "Was that okay?"

"Yes," Chloe says, and kisses her again.

No one catches them.

* * *

Chloe doesn't ask Rachel who she _really_ is until the end of September, a few months later, spent stealing kisses in the garden, more in Chloe's room. Even then, the only thing that prompts it is Rose drunkenly complaining to her about how badly she wanted to be a mother as a child, and how upset she is she never got the chance.

"Rachel," Chloe says, and takes a deep breath to avoid losing her nerve. "Who are you?"

Rachel smiles sadly at her. "I was wondering when you'd ask. I thought I'd get until October."

"Rachel," Chloe says. "Please."

"I only ever lied to you once, and not about that," Rachel says. "You...made assumptions."

"I'm not mad," Chloe says, though there's this pit in her stomach that could so easily spark into rage, like it used to back when Maxine left her. "Just...please tell me."

"When I told you my name," Rachel says. "There's actually an extra 'i' in there."

"Um," Chloe says, because she can still barely read.

"Rachiel," Rachel (or not-Rachel, as it turns out) says, and Chloe stiffens, because that sounds a lot like the names that the Marsh family preaches about.

"Are you--"

"Yes," Rachiel says. 

"You didn't even let me finish my sentence," Chloe says, and there's that anger she was worried about.

"I knew what you were going to say," her friend says simply. "And yes. I'm an angel."

"Oh," Chloe says, because God, if she wasn't going to hell before. 

"You're not damned," Rachiel says gently. "Promise. I'm here for you."

"So I'm dead?" Chloe mumbles.

"No, you're alive as ever," Rachiel says with a smile. "You needed...freedom, I suppose."

"From _what_?"

"Fear," the angel says, and her wings are out, now, resplendent in their beauty, terrifying in all their implications. "And from this place."

"So what, you've come to bring me somewhere else?" Chloe says, hoping that how scared she is isn't obvious, somehow.

"To give you the means to do so," Rachel says, because while that isn't her name, apparently, Chloe can't think of her as anything else. "Come with me."

Chloe follows her to the stables, where a horse is saddled and ready to go. 

"You should take him," Rachel says with a little self-assured nod. "He'll get you as far as you need."

"Where?" Chloe asks.

Rachel sighs. "Your friend. Maxine."

Chloe stiffens. They'd never talked about her. "How do you--right."

"In another place," Rachel says. "Another time, maybe, she saved you. Now it's your turn."

"Come with me," Chloe says, impulsive as always.

Rachel blinks at her, genuinely surprised for the first time she can remember. "I can't."

Chloe looks down at their feet, not surprised but still upset. "Will I ever see you again?"

"I hope not anytime soon," Rachel says gently. "I'll miss you, Chloe Price."

"I'll miss you," Chloe says, and Rachel goes up to kiss her. Chloe closes her eyes and savors it.

When she opens them, Rachel's vanished, so she gets on the horse and leaves, Arcadia Bay disappearing behind her.


End file.
